Development Trend of District Cooling and Cool Storage Technology

Abstract

[Introduction] The energy consumption of air conditioners is gradually increasing, which is one of the main reasons for the difference between the peak and valley power consumption of the power grid. Analyzing the characteristics of district cooling and cold storage technology and actively adjusting the distribution of electricity consumption of air conditioning and refrigeration systems to reduce the peak load of electricity consumption, provide references for planning, design, and operation of district cooling. [Method] Combining the literature review of cold storage engineering research and actual case analysis, we botained the characteristics of water storage and ice storage technology outside the coil, the nature of resources for district cooling and the principles to be followed. [Result] The results show that development of district cooling and cold storage technologies in China is promising. The water storage system is flexible and convenient, and it is advisable to use the electricity price mechanism to encourage users to invest themselves. As for the ice storage system outside the coil, the initial investment and total life cycle cost per unit of the cold storage system show a downward trend with the increase of the size of the cold storage system, but the change trend is gradually flattening. District cooling projects should be planned in advance. And it is regarded as a project that maximizes the benefit of resources of all members of the district. All members must participate to get the maximum benefit and share it with all members. [Conclusion] This work provides some guidance for further study on district cooling and cool storage technology.

Keywords

• district cooling
• ice storage
• water storage